


One Centimeter

by megastarstrike



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff, Height Differences, M/M, author has never worked in a coffee shop please have mercy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-18
Updated: 2017-07-18
Packaged: 2018-12-03 22:50:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11542053
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/megastarstrike/pseuds/megastarstrike
Summary: In which Hinata learns that comparing heights with your co-workers never leads to good results.





	One Centimeter

The moment Hinata walked into his co-workers standing against a wall with their shoes off and the manager holding a tape measure, he knew something would go wrong.

Hinata raised an eyebrow. “What the hell are you guys doing? We open in ten minutes.”

Sonia turned to him with a bright smile. “Good morning, Hinata-san. I figured this would be a good exercise to bond together. If we’re going to be co-workers, we must also learn to work together in the most efficient way possible.”

“We’re going to bond by comparing our heights?”

“Precisely! Would you care to join us?”

Hinata shrugged before kicking off his shoes and leaning against the wall. “Fine, whatever.”

“Wonderful!” Sonia clapped her hands together before measuring his height. “Hmm… 179 centimeters. Just one centimeter shorter than Komaeda-san.”

 “Don’t worry, Hinata-kun, I was 160 centimeters… I think,” Nanami said. A yawn followed her words. “I think Kuzuryuu-kun was 157 centimeters.”

Said man screamed out a denial from another room.

Komaeda gave him an innocent smile, but Hinata knew better at this point.

Hinata put his shoes back on and walked to the door to open up the shop.

*

Hinata wiped the sweat off his forehead and flipped the open sign over to closed.

Sonia clapped her hands together with a smile. “Good work, everyone! Let’s work harder tomorrow.”

“We’re almost out of paper cups, though,” Nanami said, holding up a single paper cup.

“Oh. That’s not good, is it?” Sonia thought for a second before pulling out a credit card and handing it to Hinata. “Hinata-san, this is the company credit card. Can you buy enough cups to last us tomorrow while we get the shipment for more? You’ll need to come in around an hour early tomorrow.”

Hinata groaned internally but took the card. “Sure.”

Komaeda smiled at her. “I’ll close up shop today. You three can go on ahead.”

Hinata narrowed his eyes at him, but Komaeda only gave him a shrug in return.

Sonia dropped the key into Komaeda's hands before waving goodbye to them and leaving the shop.

Nanami and Hinata followed soon after, leaving Komaeda alone in the shop.

*

Hinata walked into the café the next morning, dragging all the cup packages behind him, as he refused to make two trips back and forth between his car and shop. He unwrapped all of them and looked up at the tall cabinets.

_Whose idea was it to make the cabinets this tall? I’ll need to use the ladder for this…_

Hinata reached a hand out to the storage room doorknob and twisted.

It didn’t budge.

Hinata’s face paled. He took a deep breath and rattled the doorknob desperately, but it wouldn’t move.

The cups from across the room stared at him mockingly. But there was something in the shadows behind them…

Hinata moved the cups to the side and picked up the item. He took one look at it before dropping it and moving a hand to his face to hide a blush.

The item was a wooden stepstool with two platforms. Red and pink hearts were painted randomly across the surface. It was surprisingly smooth, meaning someone had spent time sanding it down and putting way too much effort in it. But the most embarrassing detail was his name “Hinata-kun!!!” painted in black on the top platform.

Hinata looked around for any potential culprits.

Sonia was out of the question because of the honorific she used for him. That also eliminated the usual suspects like Souda or Kuzuryuu. People on other shifts couldn’t have known he would show up an hour early, and even then no one would be willing to come to work two hours early just to pull something like this. People on other shifts like Naegi, Kirigiri, and Asahina couldn’t be the culprit, though he doubted any of them would be the type to do something like this anyway. Nanami wasn’t the type of person who would pull this kind of scheme either.

Even with his eliminations, that left too many suspects.

Hinata took a closer look at the scratchy handwriting and resisted the urge to slam his palm against his forehead.

Komaeda. Of course it was Komaeda.

Hinata looked left and right and left again, holding the cup packages.

…No one would know if he used the stepstool, right?

Hinata set his feet on the top platform of the stool and started to stock the cabinets.

*

Hinata had just finished putting the cups in the cabinets when Sonia walked in with Nanami and Komaeda following close behind her.

Sonia waved at him, not noticing the stepstool. “Good morning, Hinata-san. Thank you for completing your task.” She paused. “Oh, have you grown taller?”

Hinata could feel a blush rising to his cheeks as Nanami and Komaeda laughed at him, having already figured out what he was standing on.

“The credit card’s in the register,” Hinata muttered, ignoring the question.

Sonia gave him a nod and opened the register.

Hinata glared at Nanami and Komaeda. “Stop laughing, the storage room was locked.”

“Huh? The storage room’s always supposed to be kept open even through the night,” Nanami said, tilting her head. She turned to Komaeda. “Are you sure you locked up properly?”

“Oh, my bad,” Komaeda said, hiding the smirk on his face with a hand.

Hinata slammed the cabinet shut before glaring at Komaeda. “So it _was_ you!”

Komaeda tilted his head and bit his lip, clearly struggling not to burst into laughter. “I don’t know what you mean, Hinata-kun.”

“This!” Hinata jumped off the stool and pointed at it.

“Oh, that.” Komaeda smiled. “It’s just a little gift for you, since you’re so short, after all. I’m sorry if it doesn’t fit your needs.”

“I’m one centimeter shorter than you, you asshole!”

“Hinata-kun’s height astounds me.”

The two stared each other down before bursting into laughter.

Hinata stood next to Komaeda with a grin and compared their heights. “I’m literally one centimeter shorter. Your stupid hair probably got in the way of the measurements anyway.”

“What, you mean that horn sticking out of your head?”

“It’s a look!”

Komaeda laughed and patted him on the head. “You mean it’s _your_ look.”

Hinata groaned but couldn’t keep the smile off his face. “I hate you so much right now.”

“I love you, too, Hinata-kun!” Komaeda chirped before wrapping his arms around Hinata.

“H-Hey, get off! We have to open up shop soon.” Hinata pretended he didn’t miss the other's embrace as Komaeda flipped the door sign, marking the beginning of the day.

And Nanami and Sonia pretended not to notice Hinata using the stepstool at any opportunity and the fond glances Komaeda shot him every time he used it.


End file.
